Multirecord controller



April 21, 1931. c. H. GREEN MULTIREGORD CONTROLLER l1, 192e 12sheets-sheet 1 Filed Jan.

Il 4 NFILIIIIIIIIIIII im M c. H. GREEN 1,801,343

MULTIRECORD CONTROLLER April 21, 1931.

I 1 Filed Jan. ll, 1926 12 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 21, 1931. vc. H. GREENMULTIREGORD CONTROLLER Filed Jan. ll, 1926 12 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 21,1931. C; H GREEN 1,801,343

MULTIRECORD CONTROLLER Filed Jan. ll, 1926 l2 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 2l,1931. Q H. GREEN 1,8L343 MULTIRECORD CONTROLLER Filed Jan. ll 1926 /1J6' @Ajl2 Sheets-Sheet 5 M, GJM 172/ Filed Jan. ll. 1926 l2 Sheets-Sheet6 a. bg

HJM

NN mm.

April 21, 1931- C. H. GREEN MULTIRECORD CONTROLLER Filed Jan. ll. 192612 Sheets-Sheet 7 NMX April 21, 1931.

C. H. GREEN ,LTIRECORD CONTROLLER Filed Jan. 11, 1926 l2 Sheets-Sheet 8kNN dem/onf April 21, 1931. c. H. GREEN MULTIRECORD CONTROLLER 12Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Jan. l1. 1926 April 21, 1931. c. H. GREENMULTIRECORD CONTROLLER Filed Jan.v ll. 1926 l2 Sheets-Sheet 10 v 4 i w Ai ...1

l April 21,1931. A Q H GREEN 1,801,343

MULTIREGORD CONTROLLER Filed Jan. ll, 1926 l2 Sheets-Sheet ll April 21,1931.. C, H GREEN 1,801,343

MULTIRECORD CONTROLLER Filed Jan. lll 1925 l12 Sheets-Sheet 12 PatentedApr. 21, 1932/1 --UNITED STATESA PATENT OFFICE CLIFFORD H. G'REN, OFGRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGN- MENTS, T GRAND RAPIDSTRUST COMPANY AND HARRY M. BAXTER, C0RECEIVERSy .A FOR AUTOMATIC MUSICALINSTRUMENT COMPANY, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN,

A CORPORATION OF DELAWAREv MULTIRECORD CONTROLLER Application ineaJanuary 11, 1926. serial No. 80,601.

Thisinvention relates to multirecord controllers One object of theinvention is to provide improved mechanism for controlling the operationof an automatic musical instrument,

which mechanism may be separate and re" mote from the musical instrumentto be controlled, and by means of which any desired one of a pluralityof records may be selective-,1, lo 1y brought into operation to controlthe playing of the instrument.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement of themechanism through which the aforesaid control is 'ef- 'fected which willnot cause or require any changes to be made in the structure orappearance of the musical instrument, which will avoid making even suchchanges therein ashave `heretofore been considered necessary 2 inproviding musical instruments with auto- A matic playing mechanism, andwhich will not interfere with the tonal qualifications of the musicalinstrument, in which arrangement such parts of the automatic mechanismas are not too intimatel concerned with the selective actuation of' oneor more selectingl devices, the aforesaid mechanism may be controlled tocause the playing upon the musical instrument of any desired one or moreof the musical compositions represented by the aforesaid plurality'ofrecords, and thro-ugh which, in a similar manner, such playing may bestopped at will and ka new selection registered A chart `or program,showing the titles of theaforesaid musical compositions, is preferablyarranged adjacent to such selecting devices to assist in the selectionof the desired musical' numbers, and the construction of thelcontroller-indicator is such Ithat it will serve in automaticallyshowing whether or not the mechanism is in operation f and inautomatically indicating the title 4of the musical composition which isbeing played, or which is about to be played. A plurality of suchcontroller-indicators may be employed, and either fixedly or movablyconsired.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thedetailed description to follow, and II'romthe appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a general schematic view of the nected with the controllingmechanism, as deprincipal units embodied in and containn 'ing theinvention, illustrating their conne/cted relationship;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the controlling mechanism, with the casingomitted and certain. other structural parts broken away;-

Fig. 3 is a side and partly sectional view of one side of thecontrolling mechanism, look`4 ing in the direction of the arrows andtaken lupon the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; j

Fig. 4 is a side and partly sectional view of the'other side of thecontrolling mechanism, looking in the direction ofythe arrows and takenupon the line 4-.-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig- 5L'is a rear view of the controlling,

mechanism, looking in the direction of the arrows 5-5 of Figs. 3 and 4;

Figf`6 is a top plan view ofthe controlling mechanism, with certainparts broken away; Fig. 7 is ahorizontal sectional view of thecontrolling mechanism, taken upon the line,

7-'7 of Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectionalview, upon'an enlarged scale, takenprincipally upon the line 8-8 of Figs. 2 and 7 showing the selecting,cancelling, restoring, stopping and starting, and tempo-controllingmechanisms;

Fig. 9 is a side view of the pump air-A chamberand safety-valve unit,looking in the direction of the arrows 9-9 of Fig. 10, Showing theconnections of the several pneumatic -overblow."or safety-valve, and themufiler- Fig. 11 is a detail view, diagrammatic in character, showingone of the magnet-rails 1n vertlcal sectlon and its connectlon w1th aconventional form of player-action;

Fig. 12 is a vertical sectional View of the velectro-'pneumaticcontact-box, taken upon the line 12-12 of Figs. 2, 5 and 6;

Fig. 13 is a vertical sectional view, upon an enlarged scale, taken upontheline 13-13 of Fig. 7, showing the construction of one of thecontrolling valve-actions;

Fig. 14 is la front View of the tempoadjusting indexes and scales,looking in the direction of the arrows 14-14 of Fig.8;

Fig. 14a is' a horizontal sectional detail view, taken upon the line14a-14a of Fig. 14;

Fig. 15 -is a side view of the finder or selector device forming part ofthe record-selecting mechanism, looking in the direction of the arrows15-15 of Figs. 7 and 16;

Fig. 16 is a sectional view of the inder or selector device, taken uponthe line 16-16 of Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is a broken, horizontal sectional View, upon an enlarged scale,take n upon the .-line 17-17 of Fig. 18, showing the arrangement 'of thegearingfor driving the record takeup spools;

Fig. 18 isa broken, vertical sectional view,

f taken upon the line 18-18 of Figs. 6 and 17, illustrating the swingingtracker and its association with the record-holding magazine or carrier;

Fig. 19 is a front view' of the controllerindicator;

Fig. 20 is a vertlcal sectional view of the.

controller-indicator, taken. upon the line 20-20 of Fig. 19; f

Fig. 21 is a sectional view of the controllerindicator, taken upontheline 21-21 of Fig.

22 is a diagrammaticview ofthe pneumatic connections; and c Fig. 23 is adiagrammatic view of the electrical connections. f

The general objects ofthe invention have been given, but, beforeproceeding with the detailed description of the'construction, itvappearsdesirable to point out some of the advantages provided by thehereinafter described novel arrangement of the various parts'. i Y

Considering, first, the musical instrument',

it' may be explained that a' type of instrument l known as a reproducingpiano has been chosen for the purpose of illustrating the presentembodiment of the invention, but it atively associated with varioustypes of musi.-

cal instruments. It being understood, then, that the type of musicalinstrument here shown has been chosen for illustrative purposes only,the description-of the invention will deal expressly with thepeculiarities, requirements, and construction of that type ofinstrument, and with the association of the present embodiment of theinvention therewith. Reproducing pianos are usually pneumaticallyoperated and are usally constructed as a complete unit, housing all ofthe elements concerned with their automatic operation, including therecord holding and driving mechanism, the air-pump, and the pumpdrivingelectric motor, and there has been constant eort, upon the part of themanufacturersof such instruments, to conceal all of the mechanism and toreduce and muiile the sounds of its operation, so that the resencethereof will detract as little as possible from the artistic design ofthe instrument and Iso that the sounds of its operation will not annoythe listener during the rendition of a musical selection.

This invention contemplates the arrangement of a number of records readyto be selectively and automatically brought ,into service to control thepneumatic operation'of the reproducing piano aforesaid, and it concernsthe provision of a construction which will not only accommodate such anarrangement of recordsand provide fortheir convenient placement andremoval without adding further mechanism to be concealed and mumed, asaforesaid, at the musical instrument, but will, in addition, provide/forthe arrangement, away from the musicalz instrument, of the major partofthe` automatic player-mechanism heretofore housed thereby. Referenceto Figure 1 will disclose, in a general way, the manner in whichthecomplet mechanism here involved may be arranged in three connectedunits which .mal-be separately located, remote from each other, if

Y employs but-one air-puinp and' one electric housed by the musicalinstrument. Another 'such diiference is to be found in the novelarrangement of the tracker and the recordv carrier, through whichstandard types of records may be employed and be conveniently placed inand removed from position, face side upward, upon the usu'al type ofrecordspool supports. Still another such difference' resides in thenovel controller-indicator which not only provides means for selectivelycausing any desired one or more of the plurality of records to bebrought into operation to control the playing of the musical instrument,but, in addition, provides means for automatically showing Whether ornot the mechanism is in'operation, and for automatically indicating thetitle of the musical compostion which isbeing played, or which is aboutto be played, and also provides means whereby the playing oftheinstrument may be stopped at will and all previously registeredselections cancelled. These and other differences, which Will appearfrom the dctailed description to follow, involve changes in theconstruction, which changes in themselves constitute improvements overthe construction set 'forth in the aforesaid co-pending application.

The present arrangement reduces to the minimum all visible and audibleevidence that the piano is provided with automatic player-mechanism. Byplacing the'record holding and driving'v mechanism ina unit separatefrom the musical instrument, pro- F vision has been made for theaccommodation of enough records to furnish a satisfactory program ofvaried selections and the said mechanism is so disposed in said unitthat it,

l as well as the records held and driven thereby, may be much moreeasily and conveniently reached than is customary or would be possiblein the usual automatic musical instrument or reproducing piano and, byplacing the air-pump and the pump-driving el'ectric motor in the sameunit, practically all operating parts of the mechanism are thus groupedtogether, apart- @from the musical instrument, so that neither theappearance nor the tonal qualifications thereof are changed orimpaired,l andthe arrangement of the last-named 'elements in tlie unitis such that they, too, may'be much more easily and conveniently reachedthan is customary.-

The unit containin the controlling mechanism may be, as erein shown, an\artis tically designed cabinet which may also very conveniently-serveas a record-cabinet, and

may either form a part of the furnishings of the same room with themusical instrument or be placed in an adjoining room.

Preferably, and .for obvious reasons, the pneumatic player-action andthe air-pressurecontrolling expression device continue, according tothis invention, to be located at the musical instrument, but theseelements may in themselves be easily concealed Without necessitating anyspecial provision there-Y for,l and their bulk, Weight, and arrangementwith respect to the vibratory parts of the piano are not such that theirassociation therewith will interfere with the tonal qualiications of theinstrument. Furthermore, should it be desired to Inutile any sounds fromthe operation of these parts, it would not involve muffling the tonalvolume of the instrument, as has been the custom Where all ofi theoperating parts `are housed by the instrument. ,y

Considering, then, the arrangement of the parts as shown herein, it willbe seen that it completely avoids the hereinbefore men- `near the piano.Any sounds from the running machinery, if discernible under the presentarrangement, may here be muiiled Without muiling the tone of theinstrument. The arrangement herein shown very clearly avoids the usualcompact and stowed-away positioning of the parts which has heretoforerendered them so difficult to reach and lubricate or adjust, whichinconvenient positioning has become a Well-known character istie of theusual automatic musical i'nstrument, especially of the reproducingpiano, and which has been necessary in order to' conceal the pa ts aseffectively asA possible,

and it also avoids the necessity of ones ap` proaching the instrumentbefore, and after the playing of each `selection,`to place and removethe different records. The value of these features, together with thefacts that all operating parts of the mechanism are here disposed sothat they may be conveniently reached,-the several records may each beconveniently placed in proper position, identified, and removed orexchanged, and the tempo of each4 musical selection may be individuallydetermined when the respective record is placed in position, will beapparent to those familiar `with the" operation and care of instrumentsof this character.

The /grouping and arrangement of the 'i parts are such that theyconstruction herein described and claimed-may be manufactured and soldas a" product separate from the musical instrument with which it maylater be associated, and the fewness of the parts here necessary tobe\attached directly upon or Within the musical instrument provides f.for a simple installation of a complete auto. matic player-mechanismwithout mutilation or disfigurement of such instrument. Furthermore, theconstruction is such that it may be easily converted and re-converted to'16 properly control the operation of any automatie` musical instrumentdesigned to be controlled through the employment of any standardtype ofrecord and, when used in connection -with one of such instruments whichpossesses individual characteristics, such as is often the case withreproducing pianos, such vcharacteristics are in no wise changed ordisturbed, since the specifications and adjustments of the player-actionand F the expression device may remain exactly as designed for theparticular instrument.

. The musical instrument herein shown at 1 (Figure 1) is, as has beenstated, a reproducing piano and, as such, may be provided '25 with anysuitable type' of pneumatically operated player-action 2 and expressiondevice 3. The player-action may comprise the usual striker-pneumatics 4(Figure 11) for actuating the note-sounding elements 5 of the piano inthe usual or any preferred manner, and the actuation of thestriker-pneumatics ,may be individually controlled through any preferredarrangement of action-valves located within the valve-chest 6. Foroperating the player-action, the air-pressure within valve-chest 6 maybe reduced by the withdrawal of air therefrom through the .conduit 7,and the degree orw extent of such pressure reduction may be controllablyvaried through the expression device 3 to determine the power with whichthe striker-pneumatics 4 may actuate the note-sounding elements 5 andthus produce musical expression eects in the playing. Further musicaLexpression effects are obtainable throughlthe pneumatic 'operation ofthe usual string-dampers and hammer-rails of the instrument, but theconstruction. and use of these devices arey well A known and do not i,form a part of this invention, so that they need not be hereillustrated or described, it being suiicient, for the purpose of thisdescription, to explain that the individual actuation of thenote-sounding striker-pneumatics 4, the desired variations in the degreeof pressure reduction leffected. through the expression device 3, andthe pneumatic operation of the string-dampers and hammer-rails, as wellas such operation ofany other parts located, at the musical instrument,are each and all effected by reduced air-pressure which is caused by thewithdrawal of air from the several devices through the conduit 7, andare each and all controlled -in operation through individual conduitssimilar to the-conduit 8 (Figure 11).

One orI more magnet-rails 9 are arranged upon the instrument,conveniently disposed with respect to the several parts of theplayer-mechanism with -which they are operatively associated, andtheconduits 8 are connected therewith, each conduit being connected with achannel which nas an upwardly opening port 10 in a valve-strip 11. Eachport 10 is controlled by an armature-valve 12, which is actuable by anelectro-magnet 13 to open and close the port to atmosphere and thuscontrol theoperation of the device connected with the respective conduit8. Each electro-magnet 13 is connected by a magnet- Wire 14 with acircuit making and breaking contact-device located in the controllingrmechanism cabinet "l5, which contact-device will be described later. Theconduit 7, through which air is 'withdrawn from the pneumaticallyactuable devices located at the musical instrument, is also connectedwith devices located in the controlling mechanism cabinet 15, and theconduit preferably constitutes a hollow core, around which themagnet-wires 14 are arranged to form a flexible conduit-cable 714 whichmay be disposed along the wall of the room, or otherwise desirably andunobtrusively arranged, to extend' from the musical instrument 1 to thecontrolling mechanism cabinet 15.

The controlling mechanism cabinet 15 houses the controlling mechanism16, the airpump 17, and the electric motor 18, and may be arranged toprovide convenient storage space for a number of records, as shown at19. The air-pump may be of any preferred construction. It is driven bythel electric motor 18, through pulleys 20 and 21 and belt l 22, tolexhaust air from the chamber 23, with which the conduit 7 is directlyconnected. The electric motor is controlled from the main line switch 24(Figs. 7, Sand 23), the operation of which will be described later.Chamber 23 is providedwith an foverblow or safety-valve 25 (Figure 10)which may be of any preferred construction to yieldingly resist theadmission of atmospheric air, the

yielding point thereof being adjustable to determine the maximum degreeto which the air-pressure shall be reduced by the airpump. In theconstruction shown, valve 25 is held closed over the atmosphericinlet-port 26-by al tension-spring 27, one end of which is' attached tothe valve and the other to one j end of a rocker 28, and the tension ofsaid spring maybe adjusted by means of the,

,screw 29 which is arranged to act upon the other end of said rocker.Inlet-port 26 and the parts 27 to 29, just described, are covered by themuilier-cap 30, access to screw 29 being obtained through one of themuillerports 31, upon lifting the depending( end of the muffler-felt 32therefro Each magnet-wire 14 is connected, through lts respectivebinding-post 33 (Figs. 3 to 6,

ber 38 elow each pneumatic diaphragm 12 and 23) and wire 34 (Fig. 12),with a iiexible contact-fin er 35, which is arranged within the air-tigt contact-box 36 to be actuated by a corresponding tracker-con- :rolledneumatic diaphragm 37 The chamis connected, by the usual tracker-tube39, with its respective aperture in the tracker 40 (Figs. 3 and 22), andis providedwith the customary bleed or pin-hole connection 41 with theair-chamber 42, whereby the operation of each diaphragm 37 may beautomatically controlled lin the usual manner by the passing of aperforated record across the tracker 40. The iniiationof each diaphragm37 will lift .the respective contact-finger 35 into contact witha'universal contact-bar 43, which is connected, b la wire 44,bindingpost 45, and .return-wire 46, with the negative pole of thesecondary side of a transformer 47 (Fig. 23). The positive pole ofthe'secondary side of the transformer is connected with' a feed-wirecommon to all of the electro-magnets 13 at the musical instrunient, andthe primary side of the transformer is'connected with the main line cir-.:uit (both of which connections will be traced later), so that, whentheair-pressure is reduced in the air-chamber 42, the opening of the.various tracker-apertures by passing record perforations will eii'ectthe pneumatic operation of the respective 4diaphragms 37, actuate thecorresponding 'contact-fingers 35 to close the circuits, and energizetherespective electro-magnets 13, thus effecting the lifting of therespective armature-valves 12 from their ports 1 0, and in this mannercontrolling the pneumatic operation of thel various devices located atthe.' .musical instrument.

Tracker V40 is mounted, adjusted, and arranged to co-ope'rate with therecord-holding magazine or carrier 48 in an entirely novel manner.. Thisis1a'very im ortant feature of the invention, since it permits thestandard types of recordset'o be employed and provides for their'placement in, and removal from, position upon their su ports in thecustomary manner. To ex lain, the standard types of records are suc thatthe direction of winding of the records and the position of thereadingmatter thereupon are unmistak` able' and well recognized indications ofhow the lrecord-spools are intended to be posi-- tioned upon theirsupports in the instrument and, with such a record properly positioned,it 'is customary to draw the record d'ownwardly -or forwardly from therecord-spool,`

over the tracker, and attach it to the usual take-up spool. The label,showing the title of the composition, the words (if any), and

the various markings appear upon the stand-v ard record upon what isthus intended to be its forward or upper surface or obverse side,

Vand the usual clutch-shaft 57 in (proper positionto be read when therecor -spool is in position u on its supports.

In order to provide or this customary positioning 'of t e records in amagazine or carrier holding a number of such records ready for selectiveservice, and in order to have the diameter of the magazine or carrier(here shown as a rotatable drum) as small as possible, it has been foundadvisable to arrange the several sets of take-up spools andrecord-supports 1in the manner shown and to present and withdraw thetracker to and from contact with what has become established as thereverse side of the several records, and this requires the respectiveentrance vand withdrawal of the tracker into and from the path of thepositioning movement of the several record take-up spools and theirattached records. There are various reasons for preferring to have thetracker read from the aforesaid reverse sides of the several records,one reason being that recordsare usually perforated and wound so thatthe reverse sides thereof are the smoother sides, being free from theturned or burred ed es of the perforations and another reason eing thatthe lay of the records upon the face of the tracker is better,

and 53, which form a part of the framework Y.

o'f the structure, and side-plates 49 and 50 are secured to each otherby a plurality of shouldered tie-rods 54, each of which axially supportsa take-up spool 55.. Eight of such takeup spools are shown, but it willbe understood that the number may be varied and the size of the drum maybe chan ed without departing from the sco e of tis invention. For eachtake-up spoo there is a companion pair of record-spool supports, theusual spring-pressed left-hand bearing 56 (Fig. 2). Drum 48 is rotatedby means of a ooved pulley 58, which is spaced awa from iit firmlysecured to the Aside-plate 50 y screws 59 and spacercollars 60. Pulley58 is driven by a belt 61 from a smaller pulley 62 (Fi 3) which is fixedupon a counter-shaft 63 (igs. 3 and 7).

vCounter-shaft 63 is supported izo bearing-member 64. Counter-shaft 63and pulley 62 are thus drawn downwardly by the actionA of thetension-spring 68 to maintain the proper tension upon the belt 61,without disturblng the proper meshing of gear 65 with pinion 67. Pinion67 is provided with a sleeve which is free to turn upon driving shaft 66and constitutes the driven member 69 (Fig. 7) of a clutch. Driven member69 may be maintained laterally in position upon driving shaft 66 in anypreferred manner to keep pinion 67 in mesh with gear 65 and to inglymaintain the pneumatic expanded and the clutch engaged. Driving shaft 66is driven b the shaft 76 through bevel-gears 77, and s aft 76 is drivenfrom the shaft 7 8L,

of air-pump 17 through pulleys 79 and v80 and belt 81 (Figs. 1, 3, and 5to 7).

Fixed upon `main driving shaft 66, one near each end thereof, are twosprockets 82 and 83 (Fig. 7), the first of which is connected by asprocket-chain 84 with a sprocket 85 of the gearing for driving theseveral take-up spools to propel the respective records forwardly, andthe other of which is connected by a sprocket-chain 86 (Fig. 3) with asprocket 87 for driving the several record-spool clutch-shafts 57 tore-wind the respective records. Sprocket drives one member of aspeed-equalizing slip-clutch or overwinding device 88 (Figs. 2 and 7),the

driven member of which acts upon the shaft 89 and turns the same atspeeds controllable by any suitable type of variable speed controller,the type shown herein being that usuall employed for controlling thespeed of tal g machine spring-motors, comprising the Worm-gear 90 (Fig.8) which is fixed upon' shaft 89, the worm 91 which is driven byWorm-gear` 90, the butterfly-governor 92 havingA the friction-disc 93and driven by 'worm 91, andthe adjustable friction-pad 94.

against which friction-disc 93 is drawn by the 'centrifugal action ofthe butteriy-governor 92. The operation of these parts will be describedlater. Shaft 89 also carries a sprocket 95 which is connected by asprocketchain 96 with a sprocket 97 (Figs. 2 and 4).

l Sprocket 97 is carried at-onefend of a shaft 98 which is arrangedabove the record-carrying drum 48 and carries another sprocket. 99 nearits opposite' end (Figs. 3, 17 and 18). An arm 100 is journaled' uponshaft 98 near sprocket 99 and carries, at its free or swinging'end, ashort pinion-shaft 101, which is provided with a pinion 102 and alsprocket 103. Sprocket 103 is connected by a sprocketchain 104 withsprocket 99, and arm 100 is designed to be lowered and raised, ina'manner to be later described, to move the pinion f 102 into and fromengagement with the gears 105 of vthe several take-up spools 55..Sprocket 87 (Figs. 2, 3 and 5) is carried upon a short shaft 106 whichis slidably journaled fin abearing-member 107 supported upon Z6cross-bar 53.` An expansion-spring 108f (Figs. 2 and 17) acts upon theshaft 106 to move and yieldingly hold it moved away fromtherecord-carrying drum 48, and a collapsible pneumatic 109 acts (uponthe Withdrawal of air therefrom) to move said shaft 106 in the oppositedirection. EachV of` the several record-spool clutch-shafts 57 isjournaled in a boss formed upon the sideplate 50 and extends through anopening in the grooved pulley 58. The inner or spool-engaging end-partof each clutch-shaft 57 is acted upon by a friction-brake 110, profvided for the customary purpose of steadying the unwinding of eachrecord from its record-spool during playing, and the opposite end-partof eachclutch-shaft is transfixed by a pin 111 which forms the drivenmember of aclutch, the driving member thereof .being carried upon theside of the 95 sprocket 87 in,x the shape of a laterally projecting studor pin 112. Normally, expansion-spring 108 holds shaft 106 moved awayfrom the record-carrying drum 48 vand pin a record is to be re-wound,air is withdrawn n from pneumatic 109 and its collapse forces shaft 106toward drum 48, compressingexl pansion-spring 108 and bringing pin 112into engagement with pin 111, whereupon Ithe ro- 10 5 tation of shaft106 will effect the rotation of the particular clutch-shaft 57 which isthen in alinement therewith and cause the re-. lspectiveirecord to bere-Wound upon itsrecord-spool.

One important feature ofthis invention is its complete adaptability foruse with any type of automatic musical instrument, whether'or not apiano and whetheror'not a reproducing instrument, such as is here- 115in shown and described. It is evident that such adaptation may easily bemade by simply providing the controlling mechanism with the propertracker for the chosen type of instrument and then employing recordsl20designed forco-operation with such tracker.

Tracker 40 is removably secured in po sition, by screws such as thescrew 113 (Fig.l 18), along one side of a swinging, trough.- like frame114, the other side of which frame is fixed upon a shaft 115, whichshaft is both rotatably and slidably mounted in bearings 116 and 117supported upon the upper side cross-members of the frame of thestructure.

.The lengths of tracker 40 and frame 114 are 130 111 will not be engagedby pin 112 but, when 100 such as to amply allow for lateral adjustmentthereof for tracking purposes when these parts are lowered intooperative position between the side-plates 49 and 50 of the drum 48.When the tracker and frame are swung upwardly into inoperative position'(shown in Fig. 3 and in full lines in Fig. 18), the drum 48 may berotated to bring any one of the several records into operative position,but, when said tracker and frame are swung downwardly into operativeposition (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 18), the tracker is projectedbetween side-plates 49 and 50 and between the recordspool and thetake-up spool of the selected record and, under such circumstances, thedrum must be locked against rotation. It will be noted that side-plates49 and 50 are formed with deep and widely flaring notches 118-betweentie-rods 54 and that each of such notches extends, tangentially withrespect to the axis of the drum 48, toward a point between a take-upspool and its corresponding record-spool. A stud-roller 119 is carriedat one or both ends of the trough-like trackvery-frame 114 to co-operatewith the notches in either or both side-plates 49 and 50, and

' the arrangement of the parts is such that,

when the drum 48 has been rotated to bring a selected record intoapproximately correct operative position, the subsequent downwardswingingk of tracker 40 and frame 114 into operative position will swingthe stud-roller 119 (only one is shown in most of the drawings herein)into the Widely flaring mouth of the respective notch 118, and suchdownward swinging of the tracker and frame will continue until thestud-roller has been firmly seated in the bottom of the notch. Duringsuch vdownward swinging,

any bearing of the stud-roller 119 upon either of the converging sidesoil the notch 118 will adjust the drum 48 and, when such downwardswinging isv stopped by the seating of the stud-roller in the bottom ofthe notch, the drum will vbe thereby firmly locked against rotation, theselected record will have been accurately positioned, and tracker 40will have been projected the proper distance between the respectivetake-up spool and record-spool into operative contact with the record.Thisdescribed accurate positioning of the selected record and thelocking of the drum against rotation not only insures the properco-operation between tracker and record, but it also insures the propermeshing of the pinion 102 with the gear 105 of the selected take-upspool and the proper alinement of the selected clutchshaft 57 vwith theslidable re-winding shaft 106.

Tracker-shaft 115 is rotated, to effect the described swinging of frame114 and tracker 40, by means of an arm 120, which is fixed upontracker-shaft 115 and is connectedby a tie-rod 121 with the movable side122 of power-pneumatic 123 (Figs. 2'and 3). An elastic connection of thetie-'rod with the powerneumatic is provided for the purpose o ,limitingand regulating the strain upon the connected parts. An upstandingbracket 124 is carrieda upon movable side 122 and is provided with anhorizontally arranged arm 125 which loosely engages tierod 121 betweentwo stops 126 and 127' thereon. A washer 128 acts as a cushion betweenarm 125 and the up er stop 126, and an expansion-spring 129 etween arm 125 and the lower stop 127 permits power-pneumatic 123 to continue tocollapse after the downward swinging-of tracker 40 and frame 114 hasbeen completed. Movable side 122 also carries a horizontally projectingarm 130 which is positioned to contact with and operate the valves oftwo valve-devices 131 and 132 which are adjustably secured upon anadjacent part of the frame of the structure. The upper valve-device 131comprises a port-block 133 and a spring-yalve 134. When power-pneumatic123 is fully eX- panded by the comparatively powerful V- spring 135(Figs.l 2 and 7), arm 130 bears upwardly upon the spring-valve 134 andholds it closed over its port to exclude atmospheric airfrom the conduit136 ,leading to the valve-action 137 (Fig. 22) which controls theconnection of the clutch-shifting pneumatic'73 with the air-pump 17. Aspower-pneumatic 123 begins to collapse, arm 130 is thereby lowered awayfrom valvedevice 131, and spring-valve 134, being curved to standnormally open, will admit atmospheric air to conduit 136 and thereby ycause valve-action 137 to operate to eliect the collapse of pneumatic 73and the disengagement of the clutch. Thus, the rotation of the drum 48ceases before tracker 40 and frame 114 are swung downwardly into thepath of any of the drum-parts, and, as power-pneumatic 123 continues tocollapse, stud-roller 119 is drawn into the proper notch 118 and firmlyseated in the bottom thereof, accurately positioningand locking the drumand properly presenting the tracker to the selected record, ashereinbefore described. The last part of the collapsing movement ofpower-pneumatic 123 is concerned with 'effecting the pneumaticconnection of several valve-actions with the airpump 17, whichvalve-actions control the pneumatic operation of parts which should notbe operated until after the aforesaid stopping and locking of the drumand the operative association of the tracker and record has beencompleted. The lower valvedevice 132 is located so that its spring-valve138 may not be reached by arm 130 until after tracker 40 has been proerly lpositioned, but, after this has been e ected, further collapse ofpower-pneumatic 123 comi presses expansion-spring 129 (thus continlvalve138, pressing it away from 1ts port in the port-block 139 and admittingatmospheric air to the conduit 140. Spring-valve 138 is straight andstands normally closed.

Conduit 140 extends to a valve-action 141 (Figs. 9 and 22) whichcontrols the pneumatic connection of the air-pump 17 with valve-actions142, 143 and 144, (Figs. 3, 6,

7 and 22). Valve-action 142 controls the pneumatic connection ofcontact-box 36; valve-action 143 controls the pneumatic connection ofseveral devices which are concerned with the re-winding of the recordsand the re-setting of parts to be described later; and valve-action 144controls the pneumatic connection of devices' concerned with there-playing operation. The operation ofpower-pneumatic 123 is Acontrolledthrough a valve-action 145. y

`All of the valve-actions 137 and 141 to 145, inclusive, may be alikeand of the same general construction as valve-action 146 (Fig. 13),comprising the usual air-chamber 147, valvechamber 148, valve 149,atmospheric valveport 150, valve-port 151 connecting chambers 147 and148,valve-operatingdiaphragmpneumatic 1,52, bleed or pin-hole connection153, air-chamber-exhausting conduit 154, conduit 155 extending from thepneumatic to be controlled in operation, vand conduit 156 through whichthe operation of diaphragmpneumatic 152 is controlled. Admission ofatmospheric air through conduit 156 ingreat- Ler quantities than can bewithdrawn through bleed 153 will permit diaphra -pneumatic 152 to bedrawn inwardly by t e air-tension created in air-chamber 147 by thewithdrawal of air therefrom through conduit 154. This inward movement'ofdiaphragm-pneumatic 152 moves valve 149 from port 151 to close at--mospheric port 150, shutting off the admission of atmospheric air fromvalve-chamber 148 and conduit 155 and causing the air to be withdrawntherefrom (and from the pneu- `matic' connected therewith) through port151, air-chamber 147, and conduit 154.

' Arm 100 (Figs. 3, 17, and 18) is provided with a branch arm 157 whichextends ov'er and rests upon an arm or cam 158 fixed upon shaft 115.This part of the construction is such that, as shaft 115 is turned byarm 120 to swing tracker v40 and frame 114 downwardposition in themanner just described, it is not held 'in such lowered position; as is'the tracker 40 and the frame 114, but is free to be lifted out of meshwith gear 105 while the tracker and frame remain in their loweredpositions. It has already been pointed out that the accurate positioningand locking of,drum 48 -by the entrance and seating of stud-roller 119in a selected notch 118 serves to properly aline the respectiveclutch-shaft 57 with the slidable re-winding shaft 106. It is veryfevident, then, that the drum must be kept locked against movement whilethe record is being re-wound, and it is also evident that it should beso locked until the rewinding is completed for the additional reasonthat it might be that the same selection should be immediately repeatedor re-played. Arun 100 is 'provided with an eyev 160 which serves as aguide for the upper end-part of an obliquely extending rod 161. Rod 161is pivotally secured at its lower end upon the movable side of there-Wind pneumatic 109 and is provided near its upper end with aset-collar 162. Upon the col- 1 so positioned upon rod 161 that iteffects the lifting of arm 100 sufficiently to safely disengage pinion102 from the gear 105 of the selected take-up spool 55 before thel twoclutch-pins 111 and 112 engage ald begin'to re-wind the record, thusinsuring against a.

possible locking of the record-propelling gearing Aand against damagethereto or to the record.

As hereinbefore mentioned,` shaft 115 is slidably, aswell as rotatably,mounted in bearings 116 and 117, and the lengths'of tracker 40. andframe 114 are such as to amply allow fo lateral adjustment thereof fortracking purposes when these parts are lowered into operative positionbetween the side-plates 49 and 50 of the drum 48. This lateraladjustment of shaft, frame, and

`lapse of pneumatic 109 lto move shaft 106 totracker is effected throughthe record-controlled operation of two opposed shifterpneumatics 163 and164, the movable members of which are provided with abutments 165 and166 which, upon the deflation of said shifter-pneumatics, bear outwardlyagainst the forward end-partsof two levers 167 and 168, respectively.Levers 167 and 168 are pivoted between their ends upon the upper

